The Kiwala oil tanker in the Gulf of Finland. Photo: Eero Vabamägi
Estonia has released the Kiwala, a Russian oil tanker it detained earlier this month, after a series of safety issues were rectified, Estonian news website ERR reported on Saturday, citing Kristjan Truu, the director of the Maritime Department at the Transport Administration.
The Estonian Navy detained the Kiwala, which is believed to be part of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet”, in the Gulf of Finland on 11 April as it sailed from the Indian port of Sikka to the port of Ust-Luga in northwestern Russia. According to Estonia’s Transport Administration, not only had the tanker’s registration in Djibouti expired, the vessel had been sailing without valid insurance, having already been sanctioned by the EU, the UK, Canada and Switzerland for “prior illicit conduct”.
An initial inspection had identified a total of 40 deficiencies on the tanker, relating to the vessel’s documentation, the ship’s “safety management system”, the lack of crew training for emergencies, and other technical issues. Truu said that the ship would now continue to Ust-Luga after a second inspection cleared it to leave Estonia.
To safeguard its continued revenue from oil exports despite international sanctions introduced after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has assembled a vast “shadow fleet” of poorly maintained and ageing oil tankers, which sail under the flags of third countries, the poor safety record of which has led to over 30 maritime incidents taking place between 2022 and 2024.
The detention of the Kiwala came at a time of heightened tension in the Baltic region, where a wave of unexplained underwater incidents including major damage done to undersea power and telecommunications cables, is widely believed to be the result of Russian sabotage efforts.
